Gah, it seems like every IP published under them tends to under-sell badly, and nearly every publisher and friend of mine does not know them well other than being a former console manufacturer who also used to struggle making a good Sonic game.
Does Sega suck at marketing and actually selling games that aren't named "Sonic the Hedgehog"?
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If you add Total War to the list? Pretty much, yeah. I think they've got, like, one other flagship franchise, and the three of them are really what's been keeping them afloat.
Of course, I wonder how big their arcade business is. Around here, almost all of the claw machines you see in stores, arcades, and restaurants are manufactured by Sega, and even have a big logo with Sonic on them. You don't see many actual games made by them, but then you don't see many games period. Even the three or four (small, barely hanging on and/or a side business attached to something else) arcades that I know of in this state are full of old games. I'm not sure if I've ever seen a machine even as recent as Virtua Fighter 4. Usually it's a Street Fighter 3 machine, a few driving games, some light gun games, and the typical skeeball style stuff. And the driving and shooting games are usually ten or more years old. I saw a rail shooter running on Sega's Model 1 hardware at an arcade within the last year, for cryin' out loud. That's the one that was roughly as powerful as a 32X, maybe a little stronger, but also a little older.
Of course, I wonder how big their arcade business is. Around here, almost all of the claw machines you see in stores, arcades, and restaurants are manufactured by Sega, and even have a big logo with Sonic on them. You don't see many actual games made by them, but then you don't see many games period. Even the three or four (small, barely hanging on and/or a side business attached to something else) arcades that I know of in this state are full of old games. I'm not sure if I've ever seen a machine even as recent as Virtua Fighter 4. Usually it's a Street Fighter 3 machine, a few driving games, some light gun games, and the typical skeeball style stuff. And the driving and shooting games are usually ten or more years old. I saw a rail shooter running on Sega's Model 1 hardware at an arcade within the last year, for cryin' out loud. That's the one that was roughly as powerful as a 32X, maybe a little stronger, but also a little older.
Vanquish, Condemned, Yakuza, House of the Dead, MadWorld, Otogi, Phantasy Star, Shenmue, Skies of Arcadia, Shinobi, Super Monkey Ball, Total War, Valkyria Chronicles, Vectorman.
How many of those have you heard of, and how many did you know Sega published? And that's only a fraction of the games they've published over the years (though those are the mostly 'high quality' titles that actually did get some marketing).
Yeah, Sega really sucks at marketing.
How many of those have you heard of, and how many did you know Sega published? And that's only a fraction of the games they've published over the years (though those are the mostly 'high quality' titles that actually did get some marketing).
Yeah, Sega really sucks at marketing.
Well I dont think they do too badly I actually like a sizeable portion of the games they publish to be fair. Last time I was in Japan they had a huge arcade presence especially if you consider they are paired with sammy.
They dont seem to push their quality games enough though imo at least not over here they just think ah well if its good it will sell well no it wont not if no one has heard of it it wont. To be fair they have published quite a lot of new IPs and I applaud them for that (I bought quite a few as well) but they dont seem able to sustain many franchises well they may get a cult following but its not usually enough to fuel another game.
Like it or not Sonic is one of their biggest IPs I am also slightly dissapointed that they seem to have driven themselves into a corner with franchises that give themselves to reiteration well such as Virtua Fighter now if they change it they will really piss off the established fan base but if they dont its not really going to attract much needed new players (although maybe they are planning to add some DOA characters to try and get a wider audience without dumbing down as such in the next one).
They dont seem to push their quality games enough though imo at least not over here they just think ah well if its good it will sell well no it wont not if no one has heard of it it wont. To be fair they have published quite a lot of new IPs and I applaud them for that (I bought quite a few as well) but they dont seem able to sustain many franchises well they may get a cult following but its not usually enough to fuel another game.
Like it or not Sonic is one of their biggest IPs I am also slightly dissapointed that they seem to have driven themselves into a corner with franchises that give themselves to reiteration well such as Virtua Fighter now if they change it they will really piss off the established fan base but if they dont its not really going to attract much needed new players (although maybe they are planning to add some DOA characters to try and get a wider audience without dumbing down as such in the next one).
They did pretty well with the Bayonetta buildup.
Besides that...yeah, they do suck at marketing their games, especially considering the quality of what they publish.
(Alpha Protocol is one of my favourite games ever.)
Besides that...yeah, they do suck at marketing their games, especially considering the quality of what they publish.
(Alpha Protocol is one of my favourite games ever.)
Heard of them all, I knew Sega are involved somehow with all of them and I have played a fair few.shrekfan246 said:
Which is why I'm really really fearful of how well Phantasy Star Online 2 will do in the US.Vivi22 said:
Alpha Protocol and Binary Domain spring immediately upon reading OP. And im sure I could think off a few more, yeh sega really suck at advertising most of their games :/
Shame as some potentially awesome IPs will never see the light of day now.
Shame as some potentially awesome IPs will never see the light of day now.
On the bright side the whole thing about them not including female marines in multi might be a good substitute for advertising... If there's anything the net has taught me its that the best publicity is negative publicity.Nouw said:They better not fuck up with Aliens:Colonial Marine's marketing.
Imo SEGA (for their console games) is much better marketting their games to a niche crowd which is mostly old SEGA fanboys. In the west most ppl see them as a mid tier publisher (even if many of their games are freaking great) and as anyone knows mid tier games boxed games are mostly un-viable in the current market (apart from handhelds).
With Vanquish been marketed as a Gears clone they seem to be mostly misunderstood as by the mainstream when they try to punch above their weight, this is often true of many Japanese games and publishers nowadays where everybody in the west thinks of each sub genre as a clone of the best seller.
Binary Domain was the final death nail, they totally misjudged the numbers they could sell as that game bombed HARD. I remember seeing the 360 version for £9 new on amazon a month after release. They go bust and are bought out by someone else
Personally i'm annoyed that they are pulling out boxed games and religating themselves as a digital , but thats probably the best place for them atm, and hopefully they will beable to return to the mid tier in the next console generation and HOPEFULLY the digital marketplaces on consoles are of a much higher standard than they are now and can support mid tier games not just cheap $15 indies and HD remakes. They seem to be doing quite well off steam atm which is good.
With Vanquish been marketed as a Gears clone they seem to be mostly misunderstood as by the mainstream when they try to punch above their weight, this is often true of many Japanese games and publishers nowadays where everybody in the west thinks of each sub genre as a clone of the best seller.
Binary Domain was the final death nail, they totally misjudged the numbers they could sell as that game bombed HARD. I remember seeing the 360 version for £9 new on amazon a month after release. They go bust and are bought out by someone else
Personally i'm annoyed that they are pulling out boxed games and religating themselves as a digital , but thats probably the best place for them atm, and hopefully they will beable to return to the mid tier in the next console generation and HOPEFULLY the digital marketplaces on consoles are of a much higher standard than they are now and can support mid tier games not just cheap $15 indies and HD remakes. They seem to be doing quite well off steam atm which is good.
I remember there was a news article were Sega said they only focus on marketing guarantied titles. Everything else is sent out without much or any marketing. If anyone can find it, it would be nice. Regardless their marketing has been bad lately.
What I mean is that Sega can sell Sonic games almost regardless of how bad the games are (The latest games are actually good now, so that isn't a good assumption, especially from someone who hasn't played them yet.) because the brand is still that strong and its fanbase (however crazy and completely fractured they are) is enormous.Zaik said:
That makes no sense. Giving marketing to stuff that is guaranteed to sell while leaving new and obscure IP to sink-or-swim with no backing is a self-fulfilling prophecy that ensures that these obscure titles fail, regardless of how good the games actually are.WaterDancer said:
Ugh, it sickens and frustrates me to see one of my favorite publishers think that way.